Marian McLoughlin

The first episode of Home Time was excellent, so it's a relief to find that they didn't use all of the best lines in it. Gaynor is still shellshocked about her return to Coventry, so her overbearing friends and family take charge of her life. Business demon Becky, a fictional Ruth Badger with a raging libido, hosts a "dinner party-cum-skills showcase" at her one-room showhome, while Mel sorts out her love life by asking who she fancies. But it's Gaynor's fake Irish mum (Marian McLoughlin) who once again steals the show.

Perhaps due to its lack of laugh track, we didn't really get the first episode of Home Time. It seemed a bit Pulling-lite. On reflection, we were a bit harsh. The second ep confirms that it is actually really quality. Gaynor's fake Irish ('wonderful sense of community they have') mum (Marian McLoughlin) steals every scene but Gaynor's downbeat presence on her return to Coventry is a good centre to the show and her mates (particularly Coventry business woman Becky, author of 'The Sexual Workolution') rotate amusingly around her. Tonight they attempt to get her a boyfriend and a chance at a job at Coventry's premier cladding firm CovConClad, so long as she can impress the big-wigs at a dinner party.